Penrith manufacturer has global reach

Think electronics manufacturing and you probably think Asia, but Penrith Made business GPC Electronics has been operating since 1985 and grew to attract giants such as Toshiba, Nortel, Ericsson and Siemens.

Described as one of Australasia’s largest contract electronics manufacturers, GPC Electronics provides components used by many large companies in their devices.

A wide range of products are manufactured at GPC’s Jamisontown headquarters, for industries including communications, industrial, agricultural, medical, automotive and defence industries, and then exported to around 40 countries.

Today, GPC’s customers include global brands Daikin, Johnson Controls, Schneider and Philips as well as many Australian based start-ups.

The company was founded by Dr Christopher Janssen.

“It was the early ‘80s and I was looking for a new direction,” he said. “I had already moved away from my career as a medical doctor to try some of my own ideas.”

With electronics experiencing a boom, Dr Janssen recognised the potential of becoming a contract manufacturer.

“We found a couple of enthusiastic engineers in Penrith who had a wave soldering machine and the expertise we needed,” Dr Janssen said. “Our existing family business Utilux, which made electrical connectors, helped provide the capital to get established and links to potential customers. That’s where it all started.”

The business initially operated from a 500sqm factory in Coreen Avenue. Over time it amassed a catalogue of big end customers and moved to a larger factory in Peachtree Road. Further growth led to a move to GPC’s current 9,000sqm facility in Blaikie Road.

Dr Janssen said Penrith was the perfect fit for GPC.

“There’s a good mix of people here with a lot of different skills,” he said. “Our business needs a whole range of people from engineers and accountants to those with factory skills as well as unskilled people who want to be trained.”

Today, the company employs around 150 people at its Penrith headquarters; it also has facilities in China and New Zealand and customers from right around the world.

 “Our business has changed over the years,” Dr Janssen said. “In the ‘90s when the dollar was low and low-cost manufacturing in Asia wasn’t so sophisticated, we produced really high volumes. However, as time went on, we found many of our North American customers turned their focus to Asia and wanted us to have a China strategy.”

To stay competitive and grow its market, GPC Electronics added a New Zealand operation in 2000, and opened a facility in China in 2008.

“We focussed on being a high quality, reliable and responsive supplier, competitive in an increasingly global industry,” Dr Janssen said. “We produce high-mix, difficult products rather than the just high volumes which Chinese manufacturers are geared to produce.”

The company continues to grow and is conscious of the mirrored growth in our region.

“We’re investigating what impact the aerotropolis will have on Penrith and GPC Electronics,” Dr Janssen said. “As we are certified for Aerospace and Defence with AS9200, we believe that it would be beneficial for our Aerospace and Defence customers who may be setting up facilities there to have suppliers like us close by.”

Image: GPC Electronics is a Penrith based contract electronics manufacturer. Its customers’ products are exported to around 40 countries.